Laser-induced proton decay

Abstract

In this research paper, we investigate the decay of the proton into neutron, positron and electron neutrino in the presence of an external electromagnetic field with circular polarization. Different physical quantities related to this decay process, such as proton’s decay rate and its lifetime, are calculated based on the S-matrix approach. The proton and positron are treated as Dirac–Volkov states, while the neutron and electron neutrino are free-states. We have found that, though it can not occur in vacuum, the proton’s decay process into neutron, positron and electron neutrino becomes possible in the presence of laser field with high intensities near or close to the Schwinger limit. In addition, near this limit and for some frequencies, the proton’s lifetime can be comparable to that of the neutron, and the required laser strength, from which this decay becomes possible, depends on the chosen laser source.